7 Ways The Simpsons And Family Guy Crossover Was The Best. One. Ever.

Crossover episodes are not a new thing in television, and comic book TV is taking the concept to new heights. So the perfect mash-up special needs a lot of things going in the right direction, and while the Family Guy/Simpsons crossover isn’t a flawless hour of television by any means, it met or surpassed the expectations I had going into it. It’s fun, it’s surprisingly grounded, and it lets us watch the rarity of the Simpson family earning true moral superiority.

It is literally impossible to assume that everyone else out there in the world agreed with me, as people’s feelings about these two shows in particular are exemplified by some of the most strongly worded phrasings on the Internet. (As my viewership goes, I’m a diehard Simpsons fan who recognizes the decline and still celebrates the modern cycles, while Family Guy is watched mainly to hear the three psycho-raunchy jokes that inevitably slay me.) But “The Simpsons Guy” manages to bring freshness to the crossover episode, and here are seven reasons why this episode is the best crossover ever. At least, until the Futurama/Simpsons episode happens and I change my opinion completely.

Duff vs. Pawtucket Patriot Ale

For the third act of “The Simpsons Guy,” the writers humorously addressed the oft-heard cries of Seth MacFarlane’s series being a slight ripoff of Matt Groening’s primetime animated hit, and did it using each series’ signature potable. It’s a bit of a goofy contrivance for Moe to reveal that Peter’s Pawtucket Patriot is just a bottle of Duff with a different name and look, but it took the claim into the courtroom, where the comparisons are allowed to become more direct. (It’s like a more immature version of Dane Cook’s episode of Louie.) And it drives home the fact that Quagmire and Lenny would be a truly disturbing version of The Odd Couple. There are a lot of ways this episode could have gone, and having MacFarlane point the target at himself to show a bit of reverence was a quality decision. Plus, it allowed them to all bow down to the animated man who started it all, Fred Flintstone, and also gave the show a reason for a Kool-Aid Man callback joke.